Never Let Me Go
by mirrorshine
Summary: Ten Minutes Can Change Everything You've Ever Known and Loved. But Who's To Say It Will Be Better?
1. Chapter 1

**A.N:/ **Wow, I haven't been on here for a while. Haven't written a story for a long while either, but the long drag of University seems to take over so I'm sure a lot of you can relate.

Anywho, I've had this story whizzing around in my head for a good few months and occasionally I put pen to paper (as it were) to try and write it. So I thought I'd share it with you all. I hope you enjoy it and hopefully I will be consistently updating it due to myself finishing Uni in a couple of weeks!

Also, in regards to the title of the story I will admit it is taken from Flo and the Machine's same titled song. Only due to the fact I wrote the majority of this chapter and the plan to the story to this song and it just seemed to stick.

* * *

**Never Let Me Go**

Chapter One

Yuffie Kisaragi was lying on her back as she stared up at the dark night sky with its sparkling stars. The flames of the fire next to her were warm and comforting and the crackle of the burning wood was the only sound within the canyon. She let out a long moan and rolled onto her front as she looked to the magnificent red beast next to her. "Hurry it up Red." She cried. Despite that name holding no significance to Nanaki anymore, the young ninja was unable to shake off the nickname, which by now after several years she had become accustomed to.

She watched as the guardian of Cosmo Canyon stared at the large purple bluish orb in front him. Yuffie had discovered the materia deep within a forest within Wutai, however the actual resting place the materia had been at was unknown. As Yuffie hadn't taken the time to question the young traveller she'd pickpocketed. She'd taken a minute or so, to let the person discover they'd been robbed before they sighed and shouted at Yuffie that the materia was worthless.

At the time Yuffie had thought the traveller had simply said that with the hope she'd return it. However after attempting to use it and with no results she'd realised the traveller was actually speaking the truth, so had decided upon selling or trading it. But after stopping off at many materia stores, each and every shop owner had said the materia was worthless and unless she could prove otherwise then she'd get nothing for it.

So her brand new adventure had begun and by the looks of it had abruptly ended already when Nanaki shook his head. "Nothing? Zilch? No glimmer of hope?" She cried out pleadingly as she sat upright.

The red furred beast stared at her and listened to her pleas, wondering if she somehow thought he could magically change the materia's activity simply by changing his mind. "I'm afraid not Yuffie." Nanaki replied with a swish of his flaming tail. "It seems like it's almost deactivated itself."

He watched the ninja's pout develop as she absorbed her words and then sudden he saw the light switched on within the ninja's mind and her smirk instantly returned. "So how do we it un-deactivate it?" She asked, her eyes narrowing as she plotted.

Nanaki stared at the heir of Wutai, wondering how this girl, who was now twenty three but had not truly aged mentally since Nanaki had met her in the forest near Junon all those years ago, would ever run a country. "How to activate it, you mean?" He asked with a narrowing of his eyes. The girl eagerly nodded and he sighed in defeat. "I suppose a large amount of magic may." He answered, he cocked his head to the side as he stared at the materia. There was no glow to it like normal materia and its blank state would send a shiver down Nanaki's spine every time he glanced at the magic. However he knew telling the girl to forget about the materia would be useless. He looked back to the ninja as she stared off into the distance, her eyes glazed over deep in thought. "However!" He interrupted her, realising what the damage his previous words may cause. "It does not mean you should be going near any natural mako springs or the old reactors, it's far too dangerous."

The ninja slumped backwards and fell onto the floor, staring back up at the night sky. She let out a long sigh and grumbled to herself. She folded her arms across her chest and slowly drummed her fingers on her bare arms. "Large amounts of mako hum…?" She questioned aloud.

"Yuffie…"

She ignored her friend's warning tone and sat upright. Nanaki's eyes bored into her dark eyes and she pushed her slightly longer than usual hair out of her eyes. Briefly remembering next time she was near Edge she'd have to drop by and get Tifa to cut her hair, as it was hardly good for a great ninja like her to be running around with messy hair.

With a click of her fingers and from her last though a sudden idea struck her and she glanced to the red furred beast next to her who still had a slight glare on his face. "What about Cloudy, think he could use it?" She asked, picking up the orb and tossing it into the air before catching it.

"Perhaps." Nanaki answered, standing up and stretching out his back. "However I doubt he'll want to be bothered by this." He shook his head when he realised his words made no difference to the young woman.

Yuffie's face lit up instantly and she leapt to her feet with such a grace that only a ninja like herself could achieve. "Thanks Red!" Yuffie leant forwards and threw her arms around Nanaki's neck before giving him a soft squeeze. She instantly turned round and headed towards the long staircase and disappearing from Nanaki's view with the materia firmly in her hand.

"No problem…?" Nanaki answered aloud. He shook his head once more, thankful that the obsessed materia hunter had now left him in peace, but couldn't help but think he'd just handed the problem onto his friends in Edge.

* * *

In the five years since Sephiroth's last attack, Edge had grown significantly. Its borders had constantly grown with each and every new building. However, a few people had had fears that this city would simply become another Midgar and a giant plate would soon be built. Fortunately this never happened. The statue in honour of the people who died during the meteor strike, that had been destroyed by a summon five years ago had been rebuilt and stood in the centre of the city.

Edge had become the centre of the world more or less, but despite this, Yuffie couldn't help but hate the place. The constant bustle of people who would shove her out of their way and would make Yuffie cry out she was in fact the heir to Wutai and should treat her better! The sound of the cars and trucks would drive her insane like someone had set a constant annoying song on repeat and Yuffie had no way of turning it off. Why both Tifa and Cloud had decided this is where they would live was ridiculous and Yuffie could understand why the blond man would agree to make deliveries all the way to Rocket town, simply to just leave this place.

Eventually Yuffie had made her way to a familiar bar only to find the closed sign flipped over in the glass door. With a slight grumble to herself she pulled her backpack off of her shoulders and rummaged through it. After finding the desired keys she quickly unlocked the door and walked inside before closing it behind her with a chime from the bell hanging above her. The bar was unchanged mostly, the black worktop still gleamed and there were a few more table and chairs than Yuffie could recall. The ceiling had finally been finished and the endless amount of pipes had been hidden from view. There were still photos hanging along the walls, no doubt photos Cloud had taken during some of his deliveries. There was now a small folding door that hid the upstairs from patrons but it was currently wide open.

There was a familiar sound of footsteps and Yuffie spun round as she saw the brunette bar maid. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she stared at the door then at Yuffie. "I thought I'd locked that." She spoke aloud, clutching the cup of coffee in her hands.

"Oh yes, is super nice to see you too Tifa." Yuffie called out, pocketing her keys before walking towards the bar. She hopped up onto one of the bar stools that she could remember claiming were too high once and dropped her backpack besides her. "And yes it was locked. I took the time to make some spare keys to this place." She answered with a smile as she patted the keys in her pocket. Tifa raised an eyebrow and then simply shook her head.

Tifa didn't answer, knowing there was no point. She set her cup down on the marble surface and hastily tied up her long dark hair that was almost the same length as it had been several years ago. Other than that Tifa had barely changed over the last five years, her smile could still charm anyone and everyone and her pale skin was still perfect. Her once bruised knuckled were normal once more, suggesting that the older woman no longer seemed to practise her martial arts as much any more.

"What brings you here then Yuffie?" Tifa asked as she looked at the younger woman's pale dirt smudged face. The ninja's hair was much longer than Tifa remembered when she last saw her and was no longer in Yuffie's characteristic black haired bob but had now grown past her shoulders. It was hard to accept that this young woman was no longer a teenage Yuffie, but the woman's personality had not matured at all since Tifa met Yuffie.

"I'm after grouchy Cloudy." Yuffie replied matter-of-factly. The young woman pointed at a bottle of beer behind the bar. Tifa shook her head, not bothering to explain it wasn't even midday yet and instead filled a glass with water before pushing it to Yuffie. Yuffie stared at the glass before her and then snatched it up hastily and drained its contents in one large gulp.

"He isn't here." Tifa answered, remembering she heard the roar of Cloud's bike leave early this morning. "I think he's out hunting with Vincent, near the chocobo farm."

She watched the girl's pout suddenly change to one of glee at the sound of a certain ex-Turk's name. Tifa couldn't hide her smile as the ninja sat upright.

At first she'd thought Yuffie's infatuation with Vincent had been a childish crush, but now at twenty three it definitely was no longer a crush. However all of Yuffie's advances on Vincent were unsuccessful. Tifa wasn't sure whether Vincent's oblivious nature to her _'advances' _ was due to Vincent simply not realising Yuffie was flirting with him, the significant age gap or that Vincent clearly wasn't interested. But nevertheless Tifa couldn't bring herself to tell Yuffie that she was chasing something that she would never be able to catch, like a dog chasing cars. But no doubt the ninja wouldn't believe her anyway.

"What do you want him for?" Tifa asked curiously. It wasn't often that Yuffie asked for help off of 'Chocobo head' but when she did it was always for the same reason. So when Yuffie pulled out a small purple materia, Tifa did not bat an eyelash. "And who did you _'borrow'_ this off, this time?" Tifa asked with a smile, remembering the countless times Yuffie would return with materia she had 'borrowed'.

"I did not _steal _this off of anyone, if that is what you're implying!" Yuffie answered with her eyes shut and her head turned away from Tifa in mock hurt. There were more footsteps coming from behind Tifa and Yuffie leant on her stool to see a familiar teen. "Good morning Denzel!" She cried, causing the messy haired boy to stare at Yuffie and wave once before disappearing upstairs. "Everyone's happy to see me aren't they." Yuffie mumbled causing Tifa to laugh.

"I'm sorry Yuffie, carry on." Tifa walked around the bar and set about taking the chairs down from the tables.

"I am merely researching this materia for an uneducated traveller." Yuffie answered with a smile. Tifa gave a disbelieving sigh as she carried on with her task. "But, it does nothing and is useless, so I thought who better to ask than Cloud, who's also good at doing nothing and is currently, useless." Yuffie added with a smile as she rolled the materia in her hand.

Tifa shot her a warning glare before making her way back round the bar. "Like I said, Cloud isn't here. But you're welcome to wait."

* * *

There was something strangely satisfying about defeating countless monsters in the middle of the grasslands Cloud had decided, like he was breaking the norm of driving along roads each and every day. The stench of the nearby marshes hung heavy in the air, mixed with the smell of the monsters that roamed the area and the smell of gunpowder.

He looked to Vincent who was stood a little further off. The ex-Turk was stood on a small rock foundation and shooting at the monsters that stood the furthest away, as if to test his aim. Cloud glanced around once, expecting there to be some more monsters hanging around but it appeared they had all fled from the fields and headed back to the marshes.

He sheathed his heavy sword onto his back and wiped his forehead with his bare arm. "I think that's it Vincent." He called out as Vincent elegantly back flipped off of the rocks. Vincent grunted in agreement and holstered his weapon on his hip. The chocobo farm stood a bit in the distance and Cloud slowly began to make his way back to the farm with Vincent besides him.

When the old farmer had enquired if Cloud would be willing to help him rid of the monsters that were getting too close to the farm, the swordsman had been more than willing and booked an entire day off from deliveries to do so. He'd then asked if Vincent wanted to lend a hand and the enigmatic man too had been willing.

Cloud couldn't help but admit that the thrill of fight was something that he missed, as bad as it sounded. There had been a time when all he wanted was a normal life but now that he'd been blessed with that, he felt like he was missing something. Like he was simply waiting for Sephiroth to appear. It had been five years since the once general had reappeared and Cloud had fought him within the ruined Midgar.

"Has that satisfied a craving?" Cloud turned to Vincent, surprised the man had actually spoken. Cloud was about to say he wasn't sure what the man was talking about, before remembering Vincent had been an excellent Turk and no doubt could almost read Cloud like a book.

"I suppose." Cloud replied, not bothering to avoid the question. The blond had taken up a job as an on-off mercenary, what with his delivery service not being as popular now people were travelling more themselves.

"What have you been doing, Vincent?" He asked out of curiosity. The man kept himself to himself and it was on odd occasions Cloud would see the ex-Turk. But everyone had taken it upon themselves to make sure Vincent didn't lock himself away in his coffin once again. Vincent had barely changed in all the years. His red cape was still set about his shoulders and Vincent seemed unfazed that the material was starting to thin more than before, his pointed gold boots that normally shone were edged in mud from the fighting and his leather ensemble was starting to wear and had gone from its once gleaming black to a faded grey. His long dark hair still covered most of his face and had been cut poorly, mostly from the man doing it himself.

The ex-Turk looked to Cloud, his red eyes narrowed slightly as if to say 'Are we having this conversation?'. "W.R.O keeps me busy" Vincent added as he looked back towards the farm. As soon as he finished speaking a small tune began to increase in sound before Vincent swiftly dug into one of his hip pockets to snatch out a phone and flip it open.

Cloud held back a laugh when he heard a boisterous familiar voice of a certain ninja. The blond could remember a time when the dark haired man never owned a phone, then when everyone forced one upon him Vincent had always been careful to never answer a call from Yuffie. Clearly times had changed.

The blonde gazed off into the distance, running his fingers through his spiked hair and tugged at the knots as he waited patiently for Vincent who hadn't seemed to have said anything yet. The phone snapped shut with a click and Vincent turned to Cloud. "Yuffie is expecting you at the bar." He spoke quietly as he pocketed his phone.

Cloud shrugged once. "She can wait." Cloud smirked, sure he'd seen Vincent do the same.

* * *

The bell above the door to the Seventh Heaven chimed and Yuffie spun round as she watched Cloud walk in followed by her favourite ex-Turk. "Don't worry; take as long as you want. Isn't like I'm aging or anything!" Yuffie snapped as she watched Cloud walk behind the bar.

The blond frowned to himself and spun round to face the young woman. "I have a job." Cloud replied with one eyebrow raised, he stood for a second as if waiting for Yuffie's reply before heading upstairs, knowing full well the only thing the young woman did was travel across the world and occasionally help out the W.R.O. Tifa gave out a small laugh before she offered Vincent a drink, as Yuffie launched into a talk with or rather, at, Vincent about her mysterious materia.

It wasn't long till Cloud came down the stairs in a familiar red shirt that Tifa had brought him for his birthday with an attempt to inject some colour into his wardrobe. She held out a glass of water to him that he took with a smile, their fingers touching for a second before Tifa turned away.

"Are you ready now then? Or have you got to run off to play hero again?" Yuffie asked angrily with her arms folded across her chest. Cloud dropped into a chair next to a table a bit away from the forever hyperactive ninja and Vincent. Yuffie leapt off of her stool to sit across from Cloud, after Vincent provided no help in discovering what the materia actually did. "I found this…" She began, rolling the materia in the palm of her hand.

Tifa walked towards the table gently pushing a plate of pasta in front of the blonde who took the fork from her. She smiled brightly at him before walking toward the bar and into the back rooms. Cloud watched as she disappeared, watching the sway of her glossy long dark hair against her pale skin. He'd mentioned once that he loved her long dark hair; it had been more of something like he'd spoken his thoughts aloud, but since then Tifa had grown her hair once again.

Yuffie's laugh brought him out of his thoughts and he turned to look at her. Her eyebrows were wagging suggestively and her lips were stained red with a pasta sauce that she'd almost gobbled up whilst Cloud had been distracted. He let out a snarl before snatching the materia out of her hand. "Shut up." He silenced her as he stared at the purple orb.

"You know, you guys are getting old now. Tifa's twenty-seven, what are you? Thirty, thirty-two?" Yuffie laughed as she finished the blonde's food off.

"Twenty-eight." Cloud answered firmly, glaring at the young woman to be quiet. "Where did you find this?" Cloud asked, trying to change the subject.

Yuffie gave out a loud sigh and made to snatch the materia back. "That's not important. I just want you to tell me what it does!" She dropped back into the chair in a huff.

"It's worthless, isn't it Cloud?" Tifa called out. Cloud had barely noticed her return into the bar. She was leaning against the bar top with her long hair over one shoulder. She gave him a long hard stare and Cloud frowned once before looking back to the materia. As he rolled it in his palm it reminded him of a horrific materia that he'd once handed over to the infamous Sephiroth and had practically helped the man try to destroy the world. However there was no glow within the orb, like it was devoid of any magic. But he couldn't shake off the feeling like this was a dangerous piece of materia. Something that cause a lot of damage in the wrong pair of hands.

With a glance at Yuffie he instantly understood that Tifa must have realised this too and knew something this dangerous shouldn't be left in Yuffie's care. "Yes." He answered with a nod.

"Fine…" Yuffie sighed, her hand outstretched waiting for her materia.

"But I'll look into it." Cloud added, closing his palm around the materia and placing it into his combat trousers pockets. Yuffie stared at him, her mouth open slightly.

"What? No!" She cried. "I found it!" She tried to reach across the table to grab one of Cloud's hands and then somehow force him to hand her the materia back.

"Correction; you stole it." Vincent called from behind. Cloud smirked at the ninja as she turned to glare at Vincent, as Tifa laughed at Vincent's sudden sense of humour. The ex-Turk swiftly got to his feet and made towards the door. "Reeve is expecting me." He said quietly before walking out the bar as Cloud and Tifa called out a good bye.

Yuffie tore her gaze from the glass door to Cloud, her eyes narrowed in anger like she was unable to decide whether to go after Vincent or get her precious materia back. "Fine, but don't you lose it Chocobo head!" She snarled. She jumped out of her seat and snatched up her bag before running after Vincent.

Cloud turned to Tifa who was gazing at the glass door, a slight smile on her face. "Could you tell it was powerful?" Cloud asked her, digging into his pocket to pull the small ball out. Tifa turned to him and made her way to where Yuffie had been previously sitting.

"It just doesn't feel…right." Tifa replied. She took the orb out of his hands and slowly examined it. Cloud watched as her deep dark eyes took in the materia before she looked back to him and handed it back. "Like, the black materia." Cloud nodded in agreement. He could still remember as he stood within the northern crater and handed Sephiroth the materia despite everyone's pleas. Even though it was almost several years ago he still hated himself for what had happened. If only he'd been stronger and hadn't given in to Jenova maybe so many people wouldn't have died. Maybe Aerith would still be alive.

The screech of Tifa's chair against the floor brought Cloud out of his thoughts. "If that materia is bad news, I guess it wouldn't be good in Yuffie's hands." Tifa said with a smile. "It doesn't seem to be working though."

Cloud gave her a small smile, knowing the ninja would somehow be able to accidentally wreak havoc. "I'll look into it; maybe hide it somewhere where she won't find it." Cloud replied.

"That'll be hard!" Tifa said with a laugh.

Cloud hummed in agreement. "Maybe in Midgar somewhere, or in Aerith's church." Cloud began. The thought of the church made him yearn to go, not able to remember the last time he went. "Maybe I'll go now." He shrugged on his harness as Tifa watched him.

"Don't be long." Tifa smiled at him as Cloud stood in the doorway. She had that beautiful smile of hers as she looked at him and it made Cloud feel like he'd never be anything compared to the strong and beautiful Tifa Lockheart. With a nod he tore himself away from her and made his way to his bike.

* * *

The smell of the flowers was as strong as ever and the small pool at the furthest end of the church was still there. Flowers had sprouted up through gaps in the floor boards and had started to climb up along some of the stone columns. Zack's sword that stood behind the pool even had some flowers starting to grow around it too. The blade on his back seemed to suddenly weigh more, as if to remind him this was his weapon now, not the buster sword that was in front of him. Cloud carefully made his way towards Zack's sword. He couldn't bring himself to say it was once his, it was Zack's. He carefully removed the flowers that were growing up the blade and scolded himself for not coming so often. The blade could do with some cleaning but was fine.

"You're as bad as Zack." A gentle voice called. Cloud froze as if he'd been paralyzed. There was a soft melodious laugh behind him and he slowly spun round. In the middle of the church with her hands behind her back stood the flower girl Cloud had met all those years ago. The minute he looked at her face he was struck with a flashback, remembering the girl on her knees with a smile as she prayed for the entire planet, then a descending Sephiroth who then struck the girl cleanly through her stomach. With a blink of his eyes his vision cleared and he stared at the pink clad woman who was smiling at him. Cloud couldn't help but give a small sarcastic laugh at the thought of Zack, the black haired soldier would never be as bad as him. "I had to tell him to keep off of the flowers." Aerith laughed.

Cloud stared down at his feet, not realising he'd stood on any of Aerith's beautiful white and yellow flowers. He looked back to the young woman, realising it had been five years since he'd seen an apparition of his two deceased friends.

"How are you, Cloud?" She called out.

"I'm fine." Cloud managed to say, as he slowly walked towards the flower girl.

"And everyone else?"

"They're fine too." He paused for a second and looked straight at the young woman. "Why are you here, Aerith?" Cloud asked, trying his best not being rude, but purely wanting to know why she was here. Was she here for good?

"Still the chatterbox as always." Aerith says with a smile, as she leant forwards to gently touch one of her flowers. "Maybe it's the water that keeps them growing." She mused aloud as she admired the church. With a sudden sigh and a roll of her eyes she looked up at Cloud. "I'm here to see how you are."

Cloud continued to stare at her, unable to believe she was here. It had taken him a while to get used to her appearing now and again five years ago. But she was here once more. His mouth felt dry and his throat sore, he had so much to apologise for but he couldn't seem to string a sentence together.

Aerith suddenly spun round, a frown on her face as she looked to Cloud. Her vivid green eyes danced over his form before slowing looking back to his face. "What's in your pocket Cloud?" She began, her eyes were narrowed and it reminded Cloud of times when the young woman would suddenly go angry. Like the time when Cloud had led them into the mansion in Nibelheim and she desperately didn't want to go in. "Something isn't right…"

Cloud frowned back, instantly patting down his trousers before feeling the small bump of the materia that he'd completely forgotten about since arriving at the church. He dug into his pocket and showed Aerith the purple orb. "Yuffie found it."

Aerith walked closer towards him, her footsteps making no sounds. Cloud watched as her frown softened. She hadn't changed at all, her long hair was still braided and tied with the pink ribbon that Zack had brought her. Her green eyes sparkled brightly, not tainted with mako, purely natural. "That's very powerful materia." Aerith mused.

"Like the black materia?" Cloud asked.

"Or the white materia." Aerith replied, her hand gently touching the back of her hair. Cloud felt his worry decrease slightly, like knowing this materia might not be as terrible as he'd somehow decided. "Do you know what kind it is?" She asked, her hands going behind her back as she held them together and gently leaned forwards. She raised an eyebrow as she waited for an answer, like a teacher to a student. Cloud simply shook his head. "Time." She answered with a smile and a laugh, like she expected Cloud to know.

"Time?" Cloud repeated, looking down at the purple orb. Aerith's eyes are glazed over as she gazed behind Cloud, like she was listening to someone talking. Her eyes moved back to Cloud's mako ones and fixed with them.

The smile on her face seemed to fade but the corners of her mouth twitched a little at an attempted smile. "It's very old, almost as old as the black and white materia, but it was forgotten." She said quietly.

"What does it do, exactly?" Cloud asked, wondering if it does the same as his own time materia he has.

Aerith shrugged. "It's very strong, it could reverse time, maybe even go forwards. Or maybe cast a very strong haste spell!" She laughed and winked at him, her smile returning. "Imagine if Yuffie had that kind of haste on her!" She gave a short laugh that Cloud had forgotten and it made him smile as he watched her.

He final found his voice as he watched her laugh and smile to herself. "We all you miss you, Aerith." Cloud said quietly, causing Aerith to stop laughing at him and look at him. She had a faint smile on her face. Cloud wanted to reach forwards and take her hand but decided against it as he wondered if he would actually be able to touch her. "If I could do anything, you know I'd go back and stop him from… you know." Cloud added, unable to finish the sentence.

Aerith cocked her head to the side and gently placed her hand on his bare arm and gave it a squeeze. "Maybe you should give it more thought." She chuckled causing Cloud to frown. What was she talking about?

He frowned as he thought over her words. Why would she suggest he go back at a different time if he could? "Do you know what this materia does, Aerith?" He asked, his suspicion rising, wondering if the ancient actually knew the materia's true purpose.

Suddenly Aerith took a step away from him, her hands snapping to her ears as if she was trying to block some noise. Her eyes were closed tight and Cloud leant forwards to look into her face, quietly repeating her name before placing his free hand on her arm. She gasped suddenly and moved her hands from her ears and glanced up at Cloud.

"Aerith, do you know what it does?" Cloud repeated.

She shook her head once more and Cloud watched as her eyes started to well up. He wondered what he'd done wrong and watched her. "It can't be destroyed." She began. Aerith took his hand and clasped it tightly. "Please, hide it from the world and forget about it." She pleaded desperately.

"Aerith?" Cloud began. She smiled once before slowly she began to fade from view, as if a gentle wind had taken her away. Cloud stared at where the ancient had been before him only seconds ago, where his outstretched gloved hand that she'd been holding was in front of him before he slowly pulled it back to his side.

What had she meant by he should give something more thought, when he'd said he'd go back to save her? The idea of going through time and finding an unaware Sephiroth before attacking him and killing the man so none of the terrible things that ever occurred would have happened sounded suddenly appealing. Or standing besides Aerith as she prayed and guarding her before Sephiroth came. Or even helping Zack on the cliffs near Midgar. Then both Zack and Aerith would be alive…

Cloud shook his head, Aerith's words making him feel insane with his delusional thoughts. He pocketed the materia, deciding he should discuss with everyone else what he should do with the materia. He started to make his way towards the church's exit, when suddenly he could feel the ground beneath him shake, the entire walls of the church began to shudder and the water behind him began to ripple.

There was a sudden horrendous shriek that made Cloud instantly reach for his sword. He gripped the hilt with both hands and waited patiently. When suddenly the heavy wooden doors were smashed open and thrown across the church causing Cloud to duck to ensure he wasn't hit.

Standing in the doorway was a ferocious looking monster that reminded Cloud very much of the monsters he'd seen that had been hidden within the Nibelheim mako reactor. Humans that had been forced into high amounts of mako. It stood at well over eight feet tall and its hands were like talons that flexed every so often. It's legs were long and wide that crushed into the floorboards beneath it. It's shoulders were broad that ended in spikes that jutted out and with spikes that ran from the top of its head and all the way down it's back. It gave a ferocious roar when it spotted Cloud and ran forward suddenly, crushing through the floorboards as it did so. It heaved it's muscular arm back and Cloud raised his blade ready to block the attack. It's hand struck the broad side of his sword but the strike was still enough to send him hurtling backwards.

Cloud quickly forced himself upwards as the monster ran at him again swinging its arms wildly. Its large green eyes sparkled with mako and Cloud noticed the slit like pupils making him wonder if this was one of Hojo's horrific experiments that had gone horrible wrong, or maybe even right, and had been wandering the ruins of Midgar all these years.

Cloud flipped out the way as the monster stood in the middle of the church. Cloud had made his way towards the exit, hoping the creature would follow him and not to cause any more damage to the spiritual place. When the monster didn't follow Cloud could only watch in horror as the monster suddenly summoned a burst of fire magic that instantly torched Aerith's flowers and towards Zack's sword. The wooden floor lit too and all the pews as well, everything was being burnt at such a rate that nothing could be saved.

Cloud stood quietly, his mouth hanging open in shock as the only things left of his two friends were being perished. Cloud was too in shock to notice the monster suddenly run at him at such a force that he was sent hurtling backwards and into the rubble behind him. He let out a strangled cry when he felt something snap within him and struggled to roll out of the way of the monsters sudden attack. He could feel his anger begin to grow and grow and could feel something burning at his hip, but banished all pain away. He snatched up his sword and ran forwards with gritted teeth, he swung his sword once, slashing at the monster's arm as it let out a horrific cry before hastily drawing one of his smaller swords and burying it deep into the monster chest.

The monster stumbled backwards and Cloud finally groaned in pain. The intense heat at his hip began to grow and he dug into his pocket and pulled out the purple materia that was now glowing brightly. He glanced at collapsed monster and then to the crumbling church and wanted to scream and shout. They'd been snatched from him, his connection to his two friends gone. He wondered for a moment if the materia had brought the monster to Aerith's church and he snarled, ready to throw the materia away. He glanced down at the ball only to watch it melt through his glove and into his palm. He let out a short cry as it felt like he'd thrown his hand into fire. He snatched his glove off and stared at the purple mark on his palm.

All of a sudden it felt like the fire spread through his body and was torturing him, like someone had just injected mako into his system. The pain grew and grew and suddenly the world began to spin and he had to spread his legs to keep his balance. His vision started to darken and he stumbled to his knees.

With a final glance at the burning church before he lost his consciousness, he could only think of how he'd failed Zack and had never lived up to be the great hero's living legacy and wondered what the dark haired man would have done differently if he was still alive.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **That took a while to update right…

Anyhow second chapter up. Thank you very much to those you reviewed and added to their alerts and favourites. Is always appreciated.

* * *

**Never Let Me Go**

Chapter Two

The first thing that struck Cloud Strife was the stench in the air. The smell was so strong that Cloud felt like he couldn't breathe, that there was no oxygen in the air. He hadn't yet opened his eyes, but somehow knew he was no longer in the ruins of Midgar anymore. Had he died? Was he trapped in his own personal hell?

Slowly he opened his mako eyes and was met with a plain crumbling stone wall. He was lying on a cold stone floor which also stunk of cleaning chemicals. Cloud pushed himself upright, staring at the all too familiar walls. The heavy weight of his sword on his back was reassuring as he realised he truly stood in his own personal hell. He couldn't bring himself to turn around just yet, unable to accept he was stood in the house of horrors. There was a burn in his hand that Cloud had just noticed and he slowly remembered Yuffie's mysterious materia had merged into his palm.

A sudden crash of glass brought Cloud to his senses and he gently turned around. He stared at the shattered shards of glass that had travelled the distance of the room and landed at his feet before looking back to the glass' origin. There lay a black haired man, clad in a soldier uniform who was trying to rush to their feet.

Cloud felt his breath suddenly rush out of him as if someone had punched him with all their might in his stomach as he looked to his long lost friend. The last time he'd seen the soldier had been five years ago after his fight with Sephiroth, as he disappeared in an endless white with Aerith by his side. The burn in Cloud's hand seemed to break his thoughts as Zack stood and stared at Cloud.

Was this real? Cloud couldn't help but disagree with this, this wasn't real. Surely? A piece of materia couldn't really send someone back in time by seven years, right? It isn't possible!

_A piece of materia did summon a giant meteor to crash into the planet, who thought that would have been possible…_

Cloud clenched his hand at the thought. He slowly glanced back to the black haired man who's mako eyes were locked on him with his fists raised. Everything seemed to slow down as Cloud watched Zack's fist clench and unclench, the sway of the single strand of black hair that hung in front of Zack's face, the scar along his jaw line, Zack Fair was in front of him…but so was someone else.

Cloud looked to the unconscious being that was in the other mako tank, that if it wasn't for the beeps of machines that surrounded the tank, Cloud would have assumed they were dead. It took a moment for his mind to process who it was in the tank, but his mind seemed to refuse the idea that it wasn't him. Cloud could felt like he was arguing with himself, telling himself that the younger blond in the tank was indeed himself…

The lowering of Zack's fists brought Cloud's attention back to the black haired soldier who muttered something to himself before shaking his head and turning back to the younger Cloud.

He was here! Cloud was here! With Zack, the man who sacrificed his life…The thought made Cloud lurch out of his stance and run to Zack and grab the man's wrist. Cloud had to swiftly block the punch that would have hit him square on the nose and stared back into his friend's gleaming eyes. "Don't!" Was all Cloud could say.

Zack slowly lowered his arms and Cloud watched as the man's nose and forehead wrinkled up in confusion as he glanced between the younger Cloud and the man before him. "Are you a relation?" Zack's voice croaked from days of no use.

Cloud shook his head, trying to sort out what he was going to say. "This is hard to believe." Cloud paused, remembering they were against time and Zack needed to leave. "But that is me, I am Cloud." Zack gave out a low laugh and mumbled something about mako and messing with his head before returning to the glass tank in front of him.

Zack's wrist slipped out of his grip as Cloud watched his friend follow the exact same path he had done before. The same path that would lead to his untimely death… With a single glance to his younger self Cloud spun Zack round to face him once more. He had to take this chance. "You have to leave." Cloud demanded through gritted teeth. He watches as Zack laughs to himself once more and Cloud could feel his patience thin as well as knowing time was wasting and at this rate neither Zack nor his younger self would ever leave here…maybe not even himself! "Zack, I am not a some mako induced dream…I don't know how I'm here…but I know if you don't leave…" He paused once more, as Zack started to flick switches to try and break his younger self out. "If you don't leave, Aerith may die." He finished, hating himself saying those words but knowing he could be right.

What if Zack was with Aerith? Could he protect her?

He'd clearly struck a nerve and Zack's narrowed eyes turned on him, asking hundreds of questions in one glance. The glare was something Cloud couldn't ever remember on Zack's face. It was threatening and unreal all at the same time. The mako in his eyes seemed to burn brighter and for a second Cloud understood how sometimes Tifa could easily guess his emotions sometimes. "You have to leave me here, it's your only shot. You have to go straight to Midgar and find her. Understand?" Cloud took a single glance at his younger self, knowing he was sending him to a world of hell. He was sure if his younger self could even speak at this time he would have told Zack to go as well. "Zack!" Cloud called, time was of the essence!

Zack shook his head violently, his glare disappearing. "No!" He shouted, glancing to the cadet in the tank besides him and the weird apparition of the older Cloud in front of him. The desire to save and keep safe Cloud burned deep within Zack. How could he leave his friend here to deal with Hojo's poking and prodding alone? How could he even live with himself knowing he'd left a friend behind because of some vision? But Aerith? She could die? "I can't leave you…Cloud…here!" Zack paused, trying to form his words. He glanced around the room, how could he leave Cloud here? "I can make it!" He replied with determination.

"You can't." The older Cloud said, cutting his sentence dead. Cloud looked to his friend, seeing the burning desire to do good within his eyes. Cloud began again, "you won't if you do, neither will Aerith."

Zack felt his breath rush from him, his planned escape was starting to fail because he was spending his time talking to some figment of his imagination! "I'll be okay." The dream Cloud started talking again. "I know you'll come back for me, when you're safe and have more numbers." Zack glanced to his comatose friend and felt something firmly grip onto his wrist with such strength he wondered if he could break free. He was quickly being pulled along and his feet seemed to happily follow. That some part of his mind desperately wanted to leave, that everything else didn't matter and he just needed to go. But Cloud? He caught a final glance of that shock of blond hair and made a silent promise to himself that he'd find his friend once more.

The older/dream Cloud seemed to know where he was going, that he knew the exact places to look and swiftly found Zack's Buster sword that was hastily pushed into his hands. Was he dreaming? Was he still asleep in that tank? He felt the drips of mako running from his hair and onto his face and the firm grip of his sword in his hands felt comforting.

He was being pulled along once more like a puppy through a park, but suddenly the sound of footsteps woke him and he watched as a blur of blonde and black ran forwards and swiftly dealt with the few cadets that made routine check-ups on the labs. The dream started to seem a bit more real with each footstep, but he couldn't seem to build a logical explanation as he was continued to be pulled along. The older Cloud was ordering him to move, like a captain to a cadet and Zack followed, turning once more to see the entrance to where he and Cloud had been kept captive for however long it had been.

Zack planted his feet firmly causing the older Cloud to stumble once before turning around to look at him. "I can't leave him." Zack began, staring at the staircase in front of him. He couldn't leave his friend like this.

"It's too late now." The other Cloud stated and with a firm tug of strength of a Soldier that Zack couldn't remember ever belonging to Cloud, he was yanked forwards. It had to be a dream…Cloud never made it into Soldier. Maybe somehow through the mako, they were sharing a dream? The thought made him smile, that deep in Cloud's comatose state he was still dreaming.

Cloud ran forwards, remembering the ways through the horrific underground of the mansion as he made sure Zack followed him. The black haired man had seemed to turn off, like his mind was elsewhere and was following along like a robot. Cloud cast a nervous glance to his friend and saw the faintest hint of a smile on Zack's face that caused Cloud to tighten his grip on his friend's wrist.

Cloud was grateful when they were met with a rush of night cold Nibelheim air. But now was not the time to enjoy the surroundings and his eyes landed on the few motorbikes that were lined up near the side of the building. With one more tug he pulled Zack outside, also grateful that Zack's escape had been unnoticed. A smirk covered his lips, wondering if Hojo assumed he had everything under control and never assumed his prisoners would ever escape. Zack seemed to suddenly come back to life, like the night clean air had risen him from his thoughts and the man ran past him to the bikes as Cloud slowly glanced at his hand. The burning heat in his palm seemed to slowly disappear and he could feel his balance slowly go.

Zack obediently hopped onto one of the bikes and looked to Cloud expectantly. Cloud pulled his sword from his back and heaved it into the ground to hold his weight up. The world seemed to be spinning and his mouth felt dry, he heard Zack order him onto the bike and Cloud shook his head as he swallowed the sickness away.

"You go straight to Midgar." He began, his eyes focussing onto Zack's face. The Ex-soldier was shaking his head, as if it would make the dream Cloud, who seemed more real now, to get onto the bike. "You never leave Aerith." Cloud began, this time receiving a nod from his friend. "Don't let her go anywhere alone for a second!" Zack continued to nod, his mouth open slightly like he wanted to protest somewhat. "I'll be okay." Cloud replied, assuming he answered his friend's question.

Had he changed everything? Would Zack be okay? Aerith too? With a final thought Cloud turned to Zack once more. "Find Tifa." Was all he could say as he felt himself lurch forwards and collapse.

* * *

Zack stared at where the dream Cloud had once stood. The man's sword was still embedded into the ground and next to it was a small materia. With a shaky hand he picked the magic up and turned back to the mansion. Could he go back for Cloud? How could he leave the young man there alone? The sounds of more footsteps and the rattle of rifles seemed to make Zack's decision and knew he'd be no good to Cloud dead. He'd come back for him.

* * *

There was the sound of helicopter blades that hurled in the gusting winds and screams and shouts in the distance. The noise seemed to pour into Cloud's head and magnify. Everything felt wrong and his body disjointed, like his mind was elsewhere. Maybe he was dead? Is this was what being dead felt like?

He was sure of his name, that was for certain, but everything else seemed to have slipped away from him, like sand through his fingers. He felt like he should know something, something important, about his entire life, which lead to other questions. How old was he? Where was he? Who was screaming? Why were they screaming? Who was he? Was he making those people screaming? Should he know these people? His head felt like it was about to implode and within all these questions there seemed to be a soothing presence within him.

He felt a strangled cry escape his lips and suddenly became aware of his body. He felt his knees go weak, although he wasn't sure he was standing upright. Something was holding him, tightly around his arms and on either side. They were people, he could hear them talking and they were shouting too. Should he know them? He wanted to question them, but he couldn't seem to string a single sentence together.

With all the energy he had, he opened his eyes and looked to the person besides him. They wore a blue helmet that covered their face and the whole thing reminded him of something. He was being dragged somewhere, he was sure, he could feel his bare feet being dragged along a stone floor that cut into his skin. Someone shouted something about being awake and he rolled his head forwards to watch someone in white approach him, something jabbed his neck harshly and it made him hiss in pain. But this was suddenly replaced by a feeling of warmth and relaxation. His muscles seemed to go limp and his eyes were ready to close, but with a final glance upwards his eyes locked with the sky. It was a burning red and he was sure it was normally blue, it looked like something was falling from the sky and he knitted his eyebrows together.

Then in that second everything, all his memories, seemed to rush back to him. Flashes of his home town in flames, a silver haired mad man, a friend dying on the cliff edge as it poured with rain, travelling with friends, holding a pink clad woman in his arms as he lowered her into water, a church in flames, Zack…escaping with Zack before collapsing before him. He gave another strangled gasp as realisation took in and he felt another pick in his neck. Then another thought entered his mind, a thought of a woman with long dark hair, her arms crossed over her chest and a knowing smile that made her outshine everyone around her, Tifa.

His head rolled forwards as sleep slowly took over, but his last thought being as to why he saw meteor falling from the sky.

* * *

**A/N: **I can already predict there may be a few who are suggesting this may be out of character. But I want to portray more to them that some people like to.

As for example, I know everyone perceives Zack Fair as a kind hearted and selfless character and I suppose there have been instances within this chapter where it appears Zack as maybe a tiny bit selfish, but I'd like to portray people a bit differently to make them a little more realistic, rather than the one dimensional characters that we may have become accustomed to. As well as I think that FF7 film kind of destroyed Cloud's character that had been created in the game.

Anyhow...rant over. heh. Reviews/alerts/favourites always appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Again apologies for how long this has taken. But thank you again to those who reviewed, alerted and added this story to their favourites. I'll try to update quicker for you guys.

* * *

**Never Let Me Go**

Chapter Three

The crash of glass was what woke Cloud. It happened once, then again and again and again. Until it stopped suddenly, the crash came back in one sudden burst, louder than ever before. Cloud felt himself fall forwards, like gravity had suddenly hit and threw him down. He hit something cold and hard and it made him gasp for breath. The sudden intake of oxygen burnt his insides and he choked. His breathing finally returned to normal and the few other coughs around him signalled he was not alone. Cloud shivered from the sudden cold, his naked body trembling against the cold floor. He tried to move but his entire body ached and his muscles did not want to respond, like he'd been running for miles and miles and had collapsed here on the floor in exhaustion.

He suddenly could hear people talking, their accents strong of somewhere Cloud couldn't remember. They were laughing, but their laughter seemed menacing and foreboding. He slowly moved his hands, feeling his senses slowly returning to him. He felt the bump and dips of tiles and the crumbling cement that held them together under his finger nails. Cloud's thoughts were jumbled together and he couldn't seem to focus on anything, just on where he could be.

Slowly and cautiously he opened his eyes, only just realising they were still closed. The light was dim and there were no windows, making him assume he was underground. He stared at the dark grey tiles beneath him that were wet, there were a few metal tables ahead of him that were lined with dust and there was a horrific stench.

Mako. That was all he could smell, his fingers touched his hair, his blonde spikes were soaked in the liquid and was pooled all around him. He'd been in mako?

He lay silently, letting exhaustion take him. The idea of sleep seemed comforting and he let his eyes close.

Cloud's memories were slowly trickling back to him as he lay on the cold floor, some he'd rather forget and some he cherished more than others. Images of his hometown burning, the smile of a flower girl in Midgar, a new built city in the distance as he stood next to his old sword and somewhere he used to call home and the woman who lived there. That said woman seemed to suddenly appear in all his memories, like every single second he'd ever spent with her were whizzing before his eyes. Where was Tifa? Was she here?

But the memory of an escaping Zack slowly came to the fore front of his mind, remembering dragging the black haired soldier away, with a final glance at his unconscious younger self. He hadn't thought about the consequences of his actions, he hadn't thought for a single second what would happen if Zack had left him behind. At the time it felt like a bizarre dream and making sure Zack had escaped was the only thing that mattered. Zack had escaped Hojo's clutches, yet his younger self had not. So it hadn't been some dream, or maybe it had, but all the same how had he ended up on a tiled cold floor?

He daren't move his head just yet but moved his arm just far enough for him to see a little further, hoping to see Tifa's smiling face above him. He let out a gasp when instead, he was met with a pair of dead brown eyes that stared blankly back at him. He stared at the body of a young man. Their skin was a luminous blue that had been preserved in mako. Their body did not move, not even to draw breath. Ignoring their skin he reached forwards, his muscles protesting as every fibre stretched. He placed his fingers against the man's neck, searching for a pulse, but found nothing.

He moved his hand away when people's voices broke his reverie. He looked up at the nearest person who was looking at the blue male with disgust. The man had a tattoo on his face that went from the corner of his eye to his ear and back down to his jaw, it was poorly done and the lines were wonky. The man didn't look any older than twenty five but there was weariness in his dark brown eyes. The man's skin was tanned and his nose and cheeks sunburnt, he had a dark brown thin scarf wrapped around his neck and all of his clothes were worn with several patches in his denim jeans and the light green jacket thinning around the shoulders and sleeves. Another person came to stand beside him, bearing the same tattoo design on his face except the skin surrounding it was raw and red. A teenager, perhaps about seventeen and Cloud instantly thought of Denzel, that he was back at the Seventh Heaven, safe and sound.

The boy looked malnourished, his arms were skinny and long bony fingers clutched onto the rifle in his hands. He had a thin jacket on and a pair of worn combats. Cloud eyed the tattoo again, assuming it must be some type of symbol to them, maybe like a gang symbol. A woman's cry suddenly pierces the silence and Cloud watched the two men glance away from the dead person besides him. Someone shouted at the woman but it didn't quell her screams, there was another shout followed by a slap of skin against skin and the woman's cries stop. Anger built up inside of Cloud, who were these people?

He wanted to leap to his feet and throw whoever hit the woman away, but his legs didn't want to respond. Memories of lying mako poisoned with Zack came to his mind and it made him feel so weak.

He'd hoped these people had maybe come as some sort of rescuers, but they clearly were the opposite. Should he run? Should he tackle the kid with the gun and shoot his way out? He wasn't even sure how many of this gang there were, let alone his body was not ready to move yet. Suddenly without warning he felt a boot at his side and was rolled onto his back. He couldn't help but groan when his back hit the floor and stared blankly up at the ceiling.

"Looks like we've got a live one." The man's accent is strong and it reminds Cloud of Barret. The burly man with his adoptive daughter, maybe he was looking for him. How long had he been gone?

Cloud almost lost himself in his thoughts until someone else began speaking. "He looks infected." Infected? Cloud wanted to lift his head and move to see what they can see. "The mark of a Soldier!" The same voice shouts out. He hears the click of rifles being trained on him. Mark of a Soldier? He assumes it must be his eyes, a mako tinge.

"He looks like he's got mako poisoning." The first voice calls out. Cloud keeps his eyes trained on the ceiling as someone waves a hand in front of his face. He didn't move, deciding to follow the life line they threw him accidentally. He'd risked a glance at another person and saw the same tattoo design. These people clearly were hostile as they had not rushed to anyone's aid yet and he wasn't going to be fighting his way out any time soon. "What we gonna do with it?" Another voice calls out. Cloud listens to them mumble, some saying they should shoot him others saying they should leave him here to die.

He waited as these people discussed between themselves. How had he got here? He remembered Yuffie's materia, the fight with the horrific monster that burnt Aerith's church and his bizarre dream. He couldn't have altered time…Maybe someone had found him unconscious after the fight. That must be why he was here, maybe as some twisted experiment…

"We should take him to the boss." The first voice answers, breaking Cloud's train of thoughts again. "He might want it as a guard dog." He man chuckles to himself along with others. A guard dog? Without warning he feels a pair of hands grab under his arms and drag him upright. His arms are thrown over two men and they clutch his wrists and slowly drag him forwards. Cloud allows them to take his entire weight, letting them believe he is mako poisoned.

A flash of a past memory echoes in his mind. That he's being carried in this similar way and in the sky he'd seen meteor falling. He'd been below the meteor, so that meant he'd been in Midgar. His heart felt like it stopped. Had that been a dream? But that dream had felt so vivid; he could recall the screams in the distance, the whirls of the wind around him right down to the dirt that scratched against his heel.

_That can't be possible… _He thought to himself. Cloud remembered his vague conversation with Aerith and her sudden urgency for him to hide that materia. Had he summoned Meteor…? He felt his stomach churn and felt the bile with the distinct taste of mako crawl up his throat. He coughed and threw up before he could even think. He heard the groans of the two men besides him and they instantly let him go. He dropped onto the floor, the smell of his own bile causing him to heave.

But the 'dream'… maybe that did happen…

He was lifted back upright and continued to be dragged forwards. Had Cloud changed the future? By making Zack leave him behind change the future? His heart began to race and he could feel sweat running down his face.

Was that why he was here? In some kind of mako tanks like he had been when he was sixteen? Despite its strangeness it made sense.

Why hadn't Zack come back for him? Everything seemed bizarre. Had Zack just taken his place instead, that he'd joined Avalanche and saved the planet and defeated Sephiroth? His thoughts took a sombre turn, as he wondered if Zack had ever made it to Midgar. Had meteor fallen and struck the planet?

He needed answers desperately, but right now was not the time to start asking.

Slowly he saw a light in the distance and is hit with a slow breeze, the stench of mako is left behind and as his eyes adjusts he expects to see maybe Nibelheim or Midgar but instead is met with a wasteland, a desert. He searches his mind as he tries to work out where he was but nothing came to mind.

This certainly wasn't the world he knew.

* * *

Cloud had been pushed into the back of a truck with a few others and eventually the truck had started. The truck was filled with the stench of mako and vomit and the bumpy ride across the desolate landscape certainly didn't help.

He'd been lost in his thoughts, wondering if his friends were alive and well. If this twisted idea of altering time had somehow happened, had Zack saved Aerith? Had he done what he could not? The image of the two being together, alive and well brought a smile to Cloud's face. But… he'd seen meteor fall, did it hit the planet? Had the city been evacuated? What about Denzel and Marlene? Did Zack find Vincent in Nibelheim? What about Cid and Yuffie? Did Zack even get to Midgar? Did he find Tifa like he asked? Did he help Barret? Did he rescue Nanaki?

Did he destroy Sephiroth?

The thought of the silver haired madman still being alive made Cloud shiver.

All these questions and no one to answer them.

But his thoughts slowly trailed back to what someone had said. That he was infected. Whilst he had been sat in the back of a truck, with the wailing woman and a few others who seemed lost in their own thoughts he'd caught sight of what they had seen.

There was a blue mark in the middle of his torso, it shone in the light and looked like glass. He'd carefully touched it and it felt like skin. His mind went back to the dead man who had been besides him and he wondered if it was some sort of experiment that Hojo had conducted. However, these few gang members seemed to know what it was.

Was this Hojo's doing?

Would he survive?

* * *

The day had faded quickly and he heard some people state how they need to find somewhere safe. Since then it hadn't been long till he'd been dragged from the truck and dumped next to some cliffs with the others. The land was still a desert and there was not a blade of grass to be seen. The air was humid and stale and in the distance there was a rumbling, like an approaching storm. There were about ten members of this gang Cloud guessed and they had all taken refuge further away from the cliffs and into a small cave.

They had a fire going whilst one person remained on guard. Cloud wanted to ask why they needed to keep on guard, as what could possibly live in a land like this. But the memories of monsters came back to him and he assumed it was that.

His strength had returned and his legs ached from all the sitting he'd been doing. That he longed to run as fast as he could and for as long. He tried to guess his age but wasn't sure where to begin. How long had he been in that mako pod? He'd seen meteor fall and he'd been twenty one then so he hoped he was still that age. He'd been in Hojo's clutches for six years maybe. He couldn't remember any of the man's experiments and wondered if he'd ever been coherent when he'd performed them. But the mark on his torso suggested that he had not been lucky enough to escape the man's torments.

He'd taken a chance to glance at the woman across from him. They hadn't bothered to cloth any of them so Cloud had seen the horrific scar across the woman's belly and from the way she was repeatedly touching the mark and whimpering he assumed she had been pregnant. There was a teenage boy next to her whose eyes were vacant and green, a tell-tale sign of mako poisoning. The kid would more likely die out here, without someone to feed him he wouldn't have a chance and so far none of their 'rescuers' had come to check on them.

In count there were five of them, Cloud, the woman, the teenager, a man and another woman who too was lost to mako poisoning. The other man sat a bit away from Cloud and looked conscious but his eyes were staring off into the distance. He hadn't said a word and on occasion he would writhe in pain and then fall into a deep unsettling sleep. But it was the man's arm that Cloud couldn't look away from. The man's arm was the same blue as the blue mark on Cloud's torso. The man's fingers were now crystal talons that twitched on occasion, the blue covered his entire arm and half of his chest and sparkled in the night. But the way the man clutched his chest as if reaching for his heart and then sometimes clutching his head Cloud doubted the man was sane. With a small touch on the mark on his chest Cloud wondered if he was resigned to the same fate as this man.

The blonde instantly thought of the monster that had burnt Aerith's church down and the way its arm resembled the man's before him. Had that ever happened…? If he'd changed the future, surely that hasn't happened. His mind wanted to explode from all these questions and knew he needed answers.

Would this man become a monster like he'd seen in Nibelheim and Midgar?

A small squawk broke his thoughts and he turned to look at the yellow birds that he hadn't paid any attention to before. They brought a smile to his face, simply because it reminded him of his past. He could still remember teaching Barret how to ride one all those years ago… Did that ever happen?

There was a horrendous screech that filled the silence. The camp woke with a start and the three chocobos that were tied down started to squawk and violently tugged at their bonds.

Cloud watched as the scrawny kid stood nervously, his hand gripping his rifle like it was his life line as he peered into the darkness. "Anything?" Someone shouted from the camp and the kid shook his head. Cloud wanted to shout at the man to keep his voice down.

There was another screech followed by another and then many others. The noise made the hairs on the back of Cloud's neck stand on end. His fingers itched for his blade to at least defend himself against this faceless enemy. The rest of the camp had finally gotten on their feet and started to make their way forwards as they stared into the darkness, armed with whatever weapon they had.

That was when Cloud spotted the faceless enemy. He doubted the others could see and assumed it was thanks to his mako eyes. There were two of these creatures. They were on all fours and resembled a Nibel wolf except its fur was now a blue colour that made Cloud touch the mark on his torso. Along the spine of the animal were spikes that ran from its head to the base of its tail. Its tail ended in a ferocious spike that waved in the air around them.

The chocobos were clawing desperately at the stake that held their binds and Cloud could only watch as the mutated wolves watched them all. Cloud couldn't stand it any longer. "Give me your weapon." He ordered to the scrawny teen that almost jumped at the sound of Cloud's voice. The teen spun around and stared at him with fearful eyes. Cloud jumped to his feet, ignoring his nudity and staring at the wolves.

"You're not…poisoned…?" The kid mumbled. Cloud stared blankly his hand outstretched.

He sighed loudly and rolled his eyes when the boy kept his firm grim on his weapon. None of the other camp members seemed to have noticed Cloud's movement. "I can see them." Cloud began, moving his eyes from the creatures to the boy. "More will come." The boy glanced from Cloud to his camp mates.

There was a sudden scream and Cloud looked to the camp, some wolves had descended from the cliffs and pounced on an unaware man. A few ran towards him to help, whilst others raced towards the trucks ready to leave their friends to the wolves. Cloud turned back to the kid whose eyes were wide with horror. The blonde snatched the rifle from him, the feeling of a weapon being in his hands was comforting. His mind ran through his old cadet training, the feeling of holding a rifle seemed alien. He quickly placed the butt of the rifle into his shoulder and spun round; he watched the wolves descend and took aim. He fired quickly and sharply, wishing Vincent was here and doing the firing and not himself.

There was a scream behind him and he watched in horror as the woman who'd been near him tried to scramble away from the wolves that had raced behind them. Cloud leapt towards her aiming a blow to the wolf's side with a kick that he knew even Tifa would be proud.

Another wolf had taken a chance and sunk its jaws into the mako poisoned teenager. The boy let out a strangled scream despite his previous comatose state. Before Cloud could reach him a wolf leapt from the cliff edge and pounced on him. His back hit the dirt hard and the rifle fell out of his hands and instead latched onto the animal's neck as its teeth gnashed before him, desperately trying to sink its teeth into anything. It's breath stank of death and Cloud wanted to choke, its saliva dropped from its gnashing jaws. With all his strength Cloud threw the monster away from him and reached for the rifle he'd dropped only to see it had disappeared. He spun round and saw the teenager he'd taken the rifle from and raced into the night and Cloud cursed.

The wolf he'd been fighting had disappeared. The two mako induced prisoners too had vanished and the woman and the infected man had run off too. The few wolves that were still in the camp spun around and disappeared into the darkness, howling as they ran.

Some of the camp mates began to run and some of the remaining wolves chased them down. There were screams in the distance as Cloud spun, checking none of the wolves were ready to pounce on himself. There were bodies scattered around the camp and Cloud hesitated, guessing these wolves would return.

Cloud stared at the startled chocobos that were still tied down. There were gashes along their sides and blood marked their yellow feathers but they had clearly put up a fight.

Cloud jogged over to one of the camp mates that had been left behind. It was another teen, probably not much older than the other boy. There were puncture wounds at the kid's neck and blood ran down his neck and pooled about him. The blonde took the rifle from his lifeless fingers and the small knife that was attached at the boy's hip before pulling at the kid's shoes. Everything that Cloud was doing right now wasn't right, he knew that, but there wasn't time to bury these people. And he was not about to run through a wasteland naked.

He pulled the pants on quickly, scanning the area in case any wolves had returned. They were a little long in the leg but Cloud hastily tucked them into boots. The kid's shirt was far too small so Cloud snatched up the jacket and quickly grabbed the knife to slice off the arms to the jacket. He pulled the blood stained canvas jacket on before jumping to his feet. He stared at the boy for a moment, wondering where his parents were and who he was. He muttered a small thanks and wished he could at least bury him before knowing he couldn't waste time.

Cloud raced to the chocobos, he snatched a set of reins up and untied the remaining chocobos that raced away the second they got. The bird squawked nervously and Cloud slowly ran his fingers along it's feathered neck. He swung the rifle across his back and leapt up onto the bird, slowly remembering racing at the Gold Saucer and the chocobo farm.

Then knowing he wasted too much time already he urged the bird on, wishing he could have done more to save these people.


End file.
